When I noticed the subject was curved lines, I thought about bittersweet and I missed my old hometown Bucks County Washington Crossing Park. The surrounding of that wooded area had many wild bittersweet vines. It’s a pity! There were a lot of bittersweet vines but no berries here! (11/2/2026)
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| I just found one bittersweet vine, a lot of no berries, Lily provided / Ceramic vase |
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| Sensei’s demo sample |
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| Tried to use dried hydrangeas and palm at home |
In front of my house is Orchard Street, the opposite side of road is the woodland, the wooded area has a path to the Northern Dutchess Hospital (my son sees patients there, he’s a Nephrologist, kidney doctor). It’s a short cut for us to walk through the path to take a walk around the hospital park, which is much sunnier than our street. Sometimes my son uses that walking path to see us.
Materials: Branches picked from the woods, name unknown, the other branch is smoke tree. Chrysanthemum provided. I know the color of my branches so I choose blue ceramic vase to be contrast. Hata Sensei liked the color combination and said the arrangement is very pretty! (11/2/2026)
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| In front of my house is Orchard street |
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| Wooded area |
I was absent from the classes in October (10/20/2026) due to my husband’s doctor appointment. Three lessons as usual, two were basic variation styles of Moribana and Nageire which I did many times before, but the third one was “With Leaves Only” arrangement, I would like to do it again at home. (10/23/2026)
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| Palm, hosta and cymbidium leaves / ceramic vase |
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| Gold pained Anthurium I put in for fun |
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A profusion of colorful flowers in this arrangement perfectly expressed my thoughts and feelings. It said : As the autumn wind blows, it carries away my faint autumn blue, but brings you my blessings.
The autumn scenery is really gorgeous! I just feel I should do more fall arrangements. Besides, I have burgundy and white hydrangeas from my daughter’s garden, which I really like to use.
Here’s the arrangement: the colorful leaves and aster picked from roadside. The Japanese bronze vase is antique, well made, beautiful and I treasure it. (10/14/2026)
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| Japanese antique bronze vase |
I was surprised by the previous arrangement, the colorful leaves still fresh, didn’t curl or dry out! Usually maple leaves can’t last more than three days. There’s an apple tree on the road side, still has a few scattered apples hanging on the bare branches. I am thinking while walking, how I would arrange them together to create another beautiful autumn scene!
The fall air is crisp! My husband and I like to walk around, I see trees gradually changing their colors, the mountains are painted in hues of gold, orange, and crimson. I love the beauty of autumn, but the season makes me feel melancholy, especially this fall! My husband’s neurologist doctor said dementia is not going to be better or cured, only get worse from time to time. His cognitive functions noticeably decline these days, but I know he still loves me! (10/5/2016)
This Cattleya orchid (Roman Holiday), surprisingly bloomed in September without my noticing, after a long period of time! One of the orchid was from division, its flowers were a little smaller. Their flowers are long lasting, I have been enjoying them for a few weeks already!
Lesson # 3, Colors in Contrast: Without knowing what kinds of flowers and colors we will get from Sensei for this lesson? I have a little hesitation to choose a container for this subject.
Materials: Blue Hydrangea, yellow Gerbera daisy, purple carnation and Aspidistra / Neutral color ceramic vase (9/14/2026)
Lesson # 2, to be viewed from all angles : I teared off all the leaves from burning bush branches to make a structure. Putting it on top of the tall vase as a base. I brought my own azalea branches and provided carnations (I wish to have more brighter colors). To be viewed all around, I carefully arranged them into the mouth of the vase. (9/14/2026)
